{You cannot become a mage. On the contrary, if I were you, I would never use magic again… Perhaps you don't understand, but I can tell you clearly—once your mental strength is completely exhausted, the only outcomes are becoming an idiot, a madman… or dying.}
Priscilla's serious expression when she said those words remained vivid in his mind. She had not been lying—Lillian had verified it himself.
The moment golden flames spread across his body, it was not only his flesh that was devoured; even his mind melted like caramel mocha. From that instant onward, he could no longer think voluntarily. His consciousness blurred, as though submerged in the deep sea, with only a massive wave called "hatred" still surging and roaring within.
He had no special relationship with the woman who called herself his older sister. They were not even close enough to be called friends, much less lovers. And yet the fury in his heart could not be suppressed. Was it anger at his own helplessness, or the desire to tear his enemies apart? He could no longer tell. This blazing fire was destined to drag him into the abyss of destruction.
But before that, he would drag his enemies down with him.
"What is this…?"
The two Sin Archbishops—who had been arguing over whether to "kill" or "devour" him—could no longer maintain their contemptuous attitude. The burning golden figure before them filled them with genuine danger. The shadow of death closed in from all sides, causing Regulus to laugh.
"How nostalgic."
It had been hundreds of years since he had encountered a battle that required even a little seriousness.
"I dislike fighting. What I desire is nothing more than a calm, steady, uneventful peace that lasts forever. I seek nothing beyond that. My hands are small, so I cannot grasp too many desires. And so, to you who would steal that peace from me—even someone as reasonable as I cannot possibly forg—"
His endless rambling was cut off as the golden figure flashed before him in an instant. Time stopped—yet even within frozen time, the golden figure still threw a punch.
Bang!
The blow struck Regulus, blasting a hole through his body. He showed no sign of pain, instead grinning as two gold coins between his fingers pierced through Lillian's thigh and abdomen. Even the blood that splattered out shimmered in radiant gold.
Time resumed. Lye severed Lillian's legs with Lunar Eclipse. The moment they were lost, flames replaced them, planting themselves upon the ground and scorching the earth black. In the next instant, the body's owner charged forward again, his attacks devoid of any technique—nothing but relentless, primal punches.
"The fact that you can move within my time does surprise me," Regulus said calmly. "But you don't truly think you can do anything to me, do you?"
A faint breeze gathered upon his raised palm. Then, along a straight path extending from his arm toward the charging golden figure, the earth, the air—indeed, the world itself—was torn apart.
Arms, waist, chest—all were severed by that unstoppable wind.
Within his frozen time, anything he threw—regardless of its inherent hardness—would destroy everything along its path. In his hands, a handful of sand could become hundreds of large-caliber bullets; a single wisp of wind could become an invisible blade that cleaved bone.
This tyrannical Authority tore Lillian's body into pieces. Yet the flames burning upon him only grew fiercer. Aside from the upper portion of his chest and his head, every part of his body had already been replaced by golden fire.
"Ahhhh—!"
A storm of raging wind blades slashed toward Regulus and Lye—it was Ram. Perhaps because of the golden mana infused into her, she had partially recovered.
At a moment like this, escaping with her sister would have been the wisest choice. To attack instead—was that not courting death?
"So why persist in such meaningless acts?" Regulus said irritably. "Do you not understand that no matter how many of these things you do, they are utterly useless against me?"
He stopped time again. To his surprise, Ram's body was trembling slightly, her expression struggling against the stillness.
"Oh…? Could you also move?"
Whoosh—!
Lillian charged once more. This time he was faster, burning more fiercely. Even stopped time could not restrain him. With his attention momentarily drawn to Ram, Regulus only had time to raise his arm instinctively—
Rip!
His arm was torn off instantly, blood spraying everywhere.
"That's enough."
The smile vanished from Regulus's face. Irritated, he summoned several blades of violent wind. Yet before he could strike, Lillian's body began visibly collapsing.
The golden radiance gradually dimmed. The flames weakened. The power sustaining his movement was gone. It was as though his soul had been completely burned away—there was nothing left to fuel the fire.
The arm he had torn from Regulus had already been reduced to ashes by the golden flames. Lillian knelt halfway to the ground, feeling as if his mind had become utterly empty. At that moment, his lost consciousness briefly returned.
But if he could choose, he would rather not have it. He would gladly pawn it to a demon in exchange for more power. After all, what use was awareness alone? Could it change anything?
"Your name—what is it?!"
Lye stood before him, unable to wait any longer. He desperately longed to devour Lillian, yet he did not know his name. Without a name, he could not consume him—forcing it would only make him vomit.
"Your name! Give me your name!"
As if I'd tell you…
With what little consciousness remained, Lillian slowly moved his eyes, staring deeply at Lye before him and at Regulus standing to the side, as if carving their appearances into his memory. Then, he turned his gaze toward Ram, who was still struggling to hold on in the distance.
If I die… she and Rem won't escape either.
With great effort, he raised his arm. The remaining golden flames around him formed a radiant bridge in the air—one end connected to his arm, the other to Ram's broken horn.
Take it all…
Live on… no matter what…
"Give me your name now!!"
Lye roared in fury, his eyes bloodshot. Behind him, Regulus flicked a gold coin between his fingers.
"It's over."
Whoosh—thud!
The coin pierced straight through Lillian's brain. His flames and consciousness were extinguished completely. His body—his very existence—burned away entirely in the end. The remaining golden light flowed wholly into Ram's body.
She stared blankly as Lillian was reduced to drifting ashes. For a moment, she could not even think. All she felt was an overwhelming heat filling her entire body, scorching her internal organs.
"My food!!"
Lye spread his arms, futilely trying to embrace the ashes, even shedding tears as he turned to glare angrily at Regulus.
"What did you do?!"
"Stop making a scene, Batenkaitos." Regulus glanced at him and gestured toward Ram and Rem. "You already know their names. Just eat them instead."
"I'll kill you…"
Ram could barely control the near-rampaging power within her body. She still had to fight—for herself, for Rem, and for that person… who, even at the very end, chose to give his power to her.
Buzz—buzz—!
A sudden humming sound filled the air, accompanied by intense mana fluctuations. The next instant, a dark void appeared above Ram and Rem's heads.
"Spatial magic?" Regulus was momentarily stunned. He tried to activate his Authority of t
Lion's Heart, but he was a step too late. The void swallowed their bodies and closed immediately afterward, vanishing as if it had never existed.
"…Ahhh! My food!!"
Lye finally reacted and began screaming hysterically.
"How am I supposed to eat them now?! Eat! Drink! Bite! Chew! I can't do anything anymore! I didn't even get to say 'thanks for the meal'! Who? Who cast that fucking magic?!"
"That one hid herself well. I can't sense her presence," Regulus said, somewhat displeased. But it hardly mattered—after all, the person he most wanted dead had already been reduced to ashes. As for the other two, it was irrelevant.
"Still, that golden mana was rather interesting. If there had been more of it, it might have caused me some trouble."
Before he could finish speaking, Lye suddenly let out a strange cry.
"My pet!"
"…Hmm?"
Lye's expression turned ugly.
"Someone… I can feel it… someone killed my pet! Ahhh! I'd been waiting for that creature that wandered freely for four hundred years to mature! Then I could have eaten it, Fuck!!"
"The White Whale was killed? Interesting… let's go take a look." Regulus stepped forward. "Stop making that face. If it died, just make another one. We have plenty of time. We can always wait for a new one to mature."
"That took hundreds of years!!"
Lye followed him in a frenzy. The two left the devastated ruins behind without a second thought. The mansion was empty—only the destruction on the ground remained as proof that a fierce battle had once taken place there.
---
Back Mountain.
A void suddenly appeared in the air, and the bodies of Ram and Rem fell out, landing on the cliffside. Following them, Beatrice stepped out of the void as well, silently watching the two.
Recovering her senses, Ram immediately used mana to treat Rem's wounds and stop the bleeding. She then looked up at Beatrice. Her gaze was that of an oni—as if some inherent nature within her had awakened again.
"I know… you had no obligation to help. Our life and death have nothing to do with you. But… if you were going to save someone, why not earlier? Why save us? Why only us?"
Her voice was icy. Ram thought that if help had come even a few seconds sooner, that person might have…
Why indeed?
Faced with the question, Beatrice wore an indescribable expression. She said nothing, merely raising her hand to assist Ram in healing Rem.
"Cough—cough…"
Because of the rapid mana output and her chaotic state of mind, Ram began coughing violently, the mana within her surging uncontrollably. The golden mana Lillian had infused into her devoured her original mana like a pack of ravenous wolves. Under the rejection between the two forces, Ram had no means of resistance and could only endure the violent mental backlash.
The impact nearly caused her to faint. By now, Rem had recovered somewhat. She reached out and held her sister in her arms.
"Sister…"
As if she had regained something precious, Rem held her tightly, gently stroking her sister's hair. Suddenly sensing something, her movements froze.
She instinctively parted the pink hair atop Ram's head. When she saw what lay beneath, her eyes widened in utter disbelief, as though something had exploded within her heart. She murmured in shock:
"Sister… your horn… it's grown back…"